Despite previous accusations of cultural appropriation, Justin Bieber got dreadlocks again

Five years ago, one Justin Bieber styled his hair in platinum dreadlocks and, rightfully, he was called out for cultural appropriation.

That was one year after Fashion Police host Giuliana Rancic commented on Zendaya's dreadlocks, which she wore on the Oscars red carpet, and said she looked as if she "smells like patchouli oil. Or, weed." As Bieber racked up mostly positive feedback from his fans for his new look at the time, the double standard was – and always has been – jarring.

Despite this, Bieber debuted yet another dreadlocked look in a series of Instagram posts on Sunday, captioning one "back in action." Must we be?

Many on social media are yet again criticizing the star, particularly calling out his hypocrisy in releasing an album this year called "Justice" and which sampled speeches from Martin Luther King, Jr., essentially standing against racism...only to turn around and appropriate the same style he was educated about five years before.

In fact, just a year ago, Bieber was very vocal about how his success has benefited off of Black culture in an Instagram post. He wrote, "I am inspired by black culture. I have benefited off of black culture. My style, how I sing, dance, perform, and my fashion have all been influenced and inspired by black culture. I am committed to using my platform from this day forward to learn, to speak up about racial injustice and systemic oppression, and to identify ways to be a part of much needed change."

It seems the commitment was premature. One wonders if Bieber still prescribes to the notion that it's all just meaningless style with the goal of nothing more than to have fun. Just as he did back in 2016, when he posted a video seemingly addressing his hair's backlash, with the caption, “Being weird is fun’ if u r not weird I don’t like you.”

After labelling a traditionally Black hairstyle that has considerable history behind it as "weird," Bieber said to Big Sean at that year's iHeart Radio Music Awards, “‘You want to be Black’ and all of that stuff people say. I’m like, ‘It’s just my hair.’”  

The year before, he also vehemently came to the defence of Kylie Jenner after she was criticized for sporting cornrows. At the time, he wrote, “Guys leave her alone, we’re all trying to figure it out and she happens to be under a microscope! I’m the first to know this. But saying she’s being racist because she has her hair in braids is ridiculous. Lets focus on the bigger picture and instead of fighting over something stupid let’s do something about equality.”

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